The King & the Stable Boy

XIV: Swords, Books, and Letters

Noah

"Sword fighting is simpler than hand to hand or wolf combat, in the fact that there are fewer things to focus on and keep guarded. It is harder than the other to in that a single blow could get you killed, and the fact that it requires more thought and tactic, and you must have defensive reflexes. I know my predecessor taught you a little bit, but let's test your current skills and go from there." Roman hands me a sword by the blade, getting in his own starting position with me following suit.

I look at his form, seeing if there is any past injury I can prey on, noticing the weight imbalance between his left and right legs. It's almost as if the right is being protected, but this wasn't the case while we were doing hand to hand combat, so I know he is trying to trip me up.

He charges first, my blade meeting his mid slash as I use my weight to push him back. We continue like this for a few moments, the constant sound of metal on metal resounding through the air when I finally see my opening.

I beat his blade, using his loss of balance as an opportunity to elbow him in the abdomen, swiping away his left leg. This attack causes him to fall to the ground flat on his back, his sword fallen just above his head, and before he can make a move to reach it and get back up, I put the tip of my blade to his Adam's apple.

"Brava!" a voice sounds from behind us.

I turn to see my eldest brother Jacob looking at the spectacle impressed.

I remove the sword from his threatening position on Roman, helping the guard back up.

"I'm going to go wash up, I'll see you both inside." the royal guard excused himself, probably to go seek out his own little brother.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you'd beat a royal guard in dueling practice." he says, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Thank you. This past week of practice has really paid off. I'm making a lot of progress against him."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you so motivated in your life. Well other than that time where you managed to swindle that young Duke out of a few silver pieces to buy mom a necklace for her birthday that one year."

"You never told a soul and Cody kept teasing the kid for it," I say, pulling the sweaty tunic off.

"Exactly. Gods, we haven't had any misadventures like that since we left the castle. I still don't understand why you stayed."

"My entire life was spent there, I got good pay for keeping the stable inventory of all things, I got to be able to tease the King himself with no consequences and his mother paid for my lessons in the finer arts and a higher education. Those royals became a second family to me in a way. That's a debt I could never repay." I move the swords back in the corner, pouring myself a glass of water from the pitcher before turning to face him.

"Well yes, but love is priceless. It doesn't need to be repaid and it's unconditional, and you'll understand that once-" he gasps, eyes bulging as he stares at me.

"What's wrong? Did the blade cut-?" I look down noticing my mark is very much so visible for all to see it, the outline of the crown prominent.

"Your mark shape-"

"Let me explain before you make any conclusions." I interrupt, grabbing two stools and motioning for him to sit down beside me on the other. "Jacob, you know that I feel like I could trust you with anything, but this, well I wasn't sure how you'd react."

"Honestly I'm not even too sure what 'this' is, but no matter what Noah, you know I'll be here for you." he tells me, looking serious and concerned.